10 famous movie speeches: 'Braveheart', 'Independence Day', more

We don't tend to go in for much sports-based editorial here on Digital Spy, but with the Premier League about to kick off today (August 17), we're willing to make an exception.

Managers across the country will be prepping their pre-match pep talks right about now, and with that in mind, we've collated ten of the big screen's most motivational speeches - some sporty, some political, all inspirational.

Al Pacino - Any Given SundayIn Oliver Stone's epic football drama, Pacino plays the veteran coach of a once-great football team who are now struggling to make the AFFA playoffs. Tasked with picking his players out of a despondent slump just before a big game, Pacino's D'Amato makes a heartfelt speech instructing them to climb out of hell "inch by inch" by working as a team rather than individuals.

Mel Gibson - BraveheartHonestly, we're tempted to just paste the entire transcript of this speech here sans any further explanation. Mel Gibson's William Wallace stirring his troops into battle with the rallying cry of "They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom" never fails to bring the goosebumps, especially once you know how things are going to end. It's clear throughout this list just how crucial a role music plays in many iconic movie speeches, and it's James Horner's score that really gets you by the throat here.

Michael Sheen - The Damned UnitedSheen shook off any concerns about Tony Blair typecasting with his performance as ill-fated Leeds United manager Bran Clough, who was brought in to replace the successful Don Revie. On his first day with his new team, Clough bluntly tells them that they might as well throw away their previous accolades because they "never won any of them fairly", referring to their violent and aggressive playing style. It's not exactly motivational, but it certainly gets his point across.

Bill Pullman - Independence DayWe sometimes like to idly imagine the speech that President Obama would make, if the earth were attacked by a hostile and technologically advanced race of aliens that brought humanity to the brink of extinction. But in the absence of a solid answer on that, Bill Pullman's President Whitmore is a good enough fictional substitute. Sure, it's corny and overly patriotic, but we challenge anybody not to get misty-eyed as David Arnold's score swells.

Sean Penn - MilkThere's nothing like a last-minute assassination threat to heighten the dramatic stakes of a speech. When Sean Penn's Harvey Milk takes the podium at 1978's Gay Pride rally in San Francisco to urge gay men and women to break their silence and come out, he knows there's at least a decent chance he's going to get shot. Fortunately for both him and for the film's audience, his assassination doesn't come until later, and his moving, impassioned rallying cry gets to play out in full. Penn arguably had the 'Best Actor' Oscar sealed up the minute he took the role of Milk, but this might be the scene that clinched it.

Brad Pitt - MoneyballThis is definitely on the minimalistic end of the speech spectrum in terms of actual word count, but Brad Pitt's Billy Beane does more with less. Beane, who has up until this point kept his distance from the 'island of misfit toys' baseball team, loses his patience after finding the players goofing off. "Is losing fun?" he snaps, to which they guiltily shake their heads. "Then why are you having fun?" The absence of an Any Given Sunday-esque piece of rousing rhetoric here is exactly the point; Moneyball's is a more jaded world, and Beane is a more jaded coach.

Alec Baldwin - Glengarry Glen RossIf you were to compile a list of the best single-scene characters in the movies, Alec Baldwin's vicious real estate boss Blake (aka F**k You) would be a contender for the top spot. He doesn't even appear in David Mamet's original play, but his impact on the film is staggering, as he unapologetically terrorises a room full of employees, telling them to Always Be Closing or consider themselves fired. It's closer to psychological warfare than motivational speech, but when he says "it takes brass balls to sell real estate," you sure do believe him.

Billy Bob Thornton - Friday Night LightsWhile for a legion of TV fans, the Friday Night Lights title will forever be associated with Kyle Chandler bellowing "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!", this stirring moment from Peter Berg's original film is right up there in terms of sheer tearjerking power. Billy Bob Thornton's Coach Gaines gives his players – yep, you guessed it – a rousing speech before their big match, but because of the paternal role he's taken on for many of them, it's far more emotional than the average pep talk.

Tom Cruise - MagnoliaMuch like Baldwin in Glengarry, we're not suggesting that Tom Cruise's Frank TJ Mackey is a man whose lifestyle or credo you should necessarily be aspiring to. But there's no denying the power of his rhetoric. "Respect the cock! Tame the c**t!" he orders a rapt audience of emasculated self-help-hungry men, urging them to obey their baser drives in order to seduce (and destroy) women. This remains the most complex and memorable performance of Cruise's career, tapping into both his intense charisma and the eerier, darker side that his recent roles have left largely untapped.

Viggo Mortensen - The Lord of the Rings: Return of the KingOh, Aragorn. It's still hard to believe that Mortensen was only cast at the last minute to replace Stuart Townsend in this role, because his emotional commitment and edgy gravitas is so central to what makes Peter Jackson's Rings trilogy the masterpiece it is. Having spent the last two-and-a-half films grappling with the burden of his royal destiny, this is the moment where he finally steps up and becomes King of Gondor, earning his place with a rousing wartime speech for the ages. We'd follow him into battle with a load of orcs any day.

What are your favorite movie speeches? Leave your comments in the space below!